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17-letter words containing w, a, r, e

  • straw in the wind — If you say that an incident or piece of news is a straw in the wind, you mean that it gives an indication of what might happen in the future.
  • strawberry blonde — woman: with reddish fair hair
  • strawberry tomato — the small, edible, tomato-like fruit of the plant Physalis pruinosa, of the nightshade family.
  • swash plate motor — a collar or face plate on a shaft that is inclined at an oblique angle to the axis of rotation and converts reciprocating motion to rotation
  • sweet mock orange — the syringa, Philadelphus coronarius.
  • sword and sorcery — a genre of literature and film, usually set in days of old with magic as well as sword fighting
  • sword of damocles — Damocles (def 2).
  • tanenbaum, andrew — Andrew Tanenbaum
  • teaching software — computer software for use in providing online education
  • technical drawing — the study and practice, esp as a subject taught in school, of the basic techniques of draughtsmanship, as employed in mechanical drawing, architecture, etc
  • tennessee warbler — a North American wood warbler, Vermivora peregrina, having a gray head, a greenish back, and white underparts.
  • test the water(s) — to explore a possible course of action; approach initially
  • the lower animals — relatively simple or primitive animals and not mammals or vertebrates
  • the lower mammals — relatively simple or primitive mammals
  • the new jerusalem — the de facto capital of Israel (recognition of this has been withheld by the United Nations), situated in the Judaean hills: became capital of the Hebrew kingdom after its capture by David around 1000 bc; destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 bc; taken by the Romans in 63 bc; devastated in 70 ad and 135 ad during the Jewish rebellions against Rome; fell to the Arabs in 637 and to the Seljuk Turks in 1071; ruled by Crusaders from 1099 to 1187 and by the Egyptians and Turks until conquered by the British (1917); centre of the British mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, when the Arabs took the old city and the Jews held the new city; unified after the Six Day War (1967) under the Israelis; the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Pop: 693 200 (2003 est)
  • the unwritten law — the tradition that a person may avenge any insult to family integrity, as used to justify criminal acts of vengeance
  • the water carrier — the constellation Aquarius, the 11th sign of the zodiac
  • the winter season — the season of the year that covers the winter months
  • thermal underwear — underwear designed to retain body heat in cold temperatures.
  • thirty years' war — the war, often regarded as a series of wars (1618–48), in central Europe, initially involving a conflict between German Protestants and Catholics and later including political rivalries with France, Sweden, and Denmark opposing the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.
  • three-strikes law — a law that mandates a life sentence to a felon convicted for the third time.
  • throat sweetbread — sweetbread (def 2).
  • throw the book at — a handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
  • tiger swallowtail — a yellow swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, of eastern North America, having the forewings striped with black.
  • to play with fire — If you say that someone is playing with fire, you mean that they are doing something dangerous that may result in great harm for them and cause many problems.
  • to show your face — If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.
  • to test the water — If you test the water or test the waters, you try to find out what reaction an action or idea will get before you do it or tell it to people.
  • to throw a wrench — If someone throws a wrench or throws a monkey wrench into a process, they prevent something happening smoothly by deliberately causing a problem.
  • touch a raw nerve — If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about.
  • twelve patriarchs — any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
  • two-toed anteater — silky anteater.
  • under the weather — the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
  • wage differential — the difference in wages between workers with different skills in the same industry or between those with comparable skills in different industries or localities
  • wage-price spiral — a situation in which wage and price increases drive each other upward and cause inflation
  • waist measurement — a measure of the circumference of the narrowest part of a person's waist
  • waiver of premium — a provision in a policy establishing specific conditions under which the policy will be kept in force without the policyholder's being required to continue to pay premiums.
  • walk-in apartment — a ground-floor apartment having a private entrance directly from the street, rather than through a hallway of the building.
  • wall street crash — the dramatic collapse of share prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929, an important factor in the early stages of the Depression
  • walleye surfperch — a common black and silvery surfperch (Hyperprosopon argenteum) found off the coast of California
  • wang laboratories — (body)   Computer manufacturer, known for their office automation products and the Wang PC. Quarterly sales $208M, profits $3M (Aug 1994).
  • war correspondent — a reporter or commentator assigned to send news or opinions directly from battle areas.
  • war establishment — the full wartime complement of men, equipment, and vehicles of a military unit
  • wardrobe mistress — a woman in charge of keeping theatrical costumes cleaned, pressed, and in wearable condition.
  • warehouse receipt — a receipt for goods placed in a warehouse.
  • warehousing costs — the costs involved in storing goods in a warehouse
  • warm-up exercises — preparatory exercises done to warm up the muscles
  • wars of the roses — the civil struggle between the royal house of Lancaster, whose emblem was a red rose, and the royal house of York, whose emblem was a white rose, beginning in 1455 and ending with the accession of Henry VII in 1485 and the union of the two houses.
  • warsaw convention — a multilateral treaty on aviation set up chiefly to limit air carriers' liability to passengers and shippers on international flights in the event of an accident.
  • washington square — a short novel (1881) by Henry James.
  • wastepaper basket — a standing basket for wastepaper, small items of trash, etc.
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